Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Some restaurateurs spend weeks
doing everything they can to get things right before formally
opening to the public. Heston Blumenthal, for example, served
many meals to “friends and family” ahead of the first lunch
at his new London venue on Jan. 31.

Others aim to sort out shortcomings in the first few days
or more, addressing issues as they arise. Anything that goes
wrong is a “teething problem,” meaning the restaurant is too
new to criticize yet established enough to charge full price.

When Hawksmoor Seven Dials opened before Christmas, it
set a standard other London restaurants would do well to
follow: friendly and efficient service, attention to detail,
great cocktails and memorable dishes were there from day one,
plus the fabulous steaks that are Hawksmoor’s trademark.

(This new establishment is an offshoot of the original
location in Spitalfields, where the service sometimes fell far
short of the food in the early days. My way of coping was to
order one of the sharing cocktails served in a receptacle the
size of a bucket: If you’re not going to see the waitress
again for quite some time, you might as well enjoy yourself.)

The new basement restaurant -- housed in a former brewery
-- retains original features such as a vaulted brick ceiling
and Victorian cast-iron columns. The parquet flooring was
salvaged from Christie’s auction rooms and there are tiles
from the London Underground. The feel is of a slightly rundown
private club, and the lighting is subtle, rather than
annoyingly dim.

Kimchi Burger

The space is divided into a bar, which can accommodate
50, and a spacious dining room for 142. It can get noisy.

The food is everything a carnivore might hope for. My
favorite dishes come from the bar menu: the unlikely hit of
the kimchi burger -- Korean pickled cabbage atop a
cheeseburger -- and the warm lobster roll. The burgers come
with heart-stopping triple-cooked or beef-dripping fries and
an English lettuce-and-herb salad and cost 15 pounds. (Order a
burger and a fruity cocktail and you’re halfway there on your
five veggies a day.)

The lobster roll is based on a dish at Red’s Eats in
Wiscasset, Maine. The whole grilled lobster is packed into a
soft toasted bun and doused in garlic and hazelnut butter. If
that’s not enough pleasure overload for you, there’s a pot of
bearnaise on the side into which you can dip your fries.

I’m sure the vegetables are fine. Personally, I stick
with fries and macaroni-and-cheese for sides, and maybe two
fried eggs.

Grilled Flavor

I should mention the main feature, the steaks -- all
British. The favorite cuts -- bone-in prime rib, porterhouse
and chateaubriand -- are large. Options are posted on a
blackboard and the general standard of flavor is of a level
you are unlikely to achieve without that winning combination
of great-quality meat cooked on a Josper grill. I have about
as much understanding of the Josper as of the offside rule,
but I do know that if there is one in the kitchen, my
expectations are high. (The latest adherent is Blumenthal
himself at Dinner.)

Desserts are well made and unashamedly retro, with
options including sticky-toffee pudding and apple-and-quince
crumble with cinnamon ice cream (both at 6 pounds or $9.64).
The mini-sundaes are cornflake, sticky toffee or chocolate. A
selection of Neal’s Yard cheeses is priced at 9 pounds.

The cocktails, including a deeply spicy bloody mary, are
great. If you are planning a night to remember that you don’t
mind forgetting, the Zombie (16 pounds) is a jumbo mix of rum
and absinthe that is so lethal, you’re only allowed one.